Cael James

Born August 26th, 2010 at 7:35am. Weighing 8lbs 7oz and 21 ¼” long.
Our little man has come into the world. Here is his birth story and first month of life.

I went into labor on Wednesday the 25th dinner time. I wasn't sure it was real labor until around 10:00pm or so. We decided to take nap because my contractions were still 10 min or so apart and they weren't hurting to much yet. We slept from 11:00 until around midnight. I woke up in some good pain and they were coming every 4-5 min. We got our things together and woke up the girls. My mom took the girls to my brothers house for the night and my hubby and I headed to the hospital. It takes approximately 45 min in good traffic to get the hospital. And, boy am I glad that it didn't take any longer! I was having contractions every 90 seconds to 3 min in the car. And, they hurt. When we got to the hospital my Midwife and a nurse were waiting for us. We got set up in our room and I was already 7 cm dilated. They quickly got my IV started and I soon had my epidural. Baby was still posterior (sunny side up...basically he was looking the wrong way and his head was coming out biggest part first) so my midwife had me move from one side to the other and they even got me up sitting to help him turn over. It worked and after just 30min of pushing he came out. They put him on my chest all gooey and beautiful and he just looked around in a daze. Compared to my labor and delivery with the girls this one went very smoothly. We stayed in the hospital until the next evening and then we went home.

His First Week:

Our little man wanted to do nothing but nurse during that first week. So the first few days home all I did was feed him. I wanted my hubby to be able to sleep during the night so that he could take care of our girls during the day. Big mistake there! I didn't really sleep at all that first week. Talk about sleep deprivation! His second week went better. My milk came in so he was sleeping and nursing a bit better. I was also waking up my hubby to help out more in the night. He got so much love from his sisters and family. He's such a good baby and so stinken cute!

Day 15:

We ended up at Children's hospital on day 15. He was projectile vomiting and our pediatrician said it could be pyloric stenosis and that he needed to be checked out at the hospital. I've never taken any of my kids to the hospital before so I was really shaken up and scared. The girls went to a family friends house and my mom hopped in her car and made a 4 hour drive to be with us. He ended up having an ultrasound, x-ray and catheter (to get a urine sample). His stomach looked fine, and his intestines looked fine. They said his kidney tubes thingies that were immature at 32 weeks still looked a bit small. They thought he might have a kidney or bladder infection so they took a urine sample. Everything came back clean. He said he was a real mystery to them. So, they sent us home telling us that it was most likely reflux and to keep him upright after feedings and gave us things to watch for over the next few days. Scarry....
The next two weeks:

They really flew by fast. My mom was here during week 3 when hubby when back to work. It was sooo nice having her here. She helped with the girls and housework. And, she watched Cael in the mornings so I could catch an extra hour or two of sleep. He had no more problems with vomiting. We were feeding him a bit less and keeping him upright. We think maybe he was overeating.
Love his little "pouty face". My brother made this same face as a baby.

He was a month old yesterday. And, boy has he grown. He's between 11 and 12 pounds and I'm sure he's grown at least an inch. (I'll check on that later... he's sleeping now) He's doing everything a newborn should be doing. We've been using cloth the last few weeks (more on that later) and we are loving it. The girls are doing great with him. Alaina wants to hold him and watch him. Rachel mostly likes to look at him and try to play with him. He really rounds out our family. He's got a very peaceful soul and is a very loving baby. We couldn't love him more.

39 Weeks & Our Pregnancy Story

Here I am... 39 weeks pregnant and ready to pop.
Below is my pregnancy in all it's glory. We've had a stressful, worrisome, anxious, and nerve wracking pregnancy. I kept things simple and left out our emotions about each event. But, trust me.... There have been lots of tears and honestly, I won't really feel peaceful about any of this until our son is in our arms and we know for certain that he is healthy.
Week 8: Pregnancy confirmed, dating ultrasound done. Due date September 2, 2010

Week 12: Genetics test done. Prick on finger for blood test (ouch!) and ultrasound done. Ultrasound looked good, but blood work showed we had a .53% chance of having a baby with downs syndrome. Genetics counselor calls to talk to me about our options. Decisions made at next appointment.

Week 16: Genetics consultation and Ultrasound. Consultation with the counselor was kind of a joke. She strongly advised us that we should have an amnio done as well as a few other blood tests. Amnio has a .5 – 1% chance of miscarriage. We declined the amnio and more blood work in favor of another ultrasound. Ultrasound showed that the fluid in the spine looked ok, all soft structures look fine (nose in particular), and all other organs looked fine, but the fatty fold in the back of the neck was borderline normal. Our risk for downs is still .53%. They suggested a heart echo with our standard 20 week ultrasound. It's a boy!!!!

Week 22: Standard 20 week ultrasound and heart echo. After a 2 hr. ultrasound we were told by the gleamingly happy doctor that everything looked great and that of all the ultrasounds this one was the most important in terms of any abnormalities. She said he looks perfectly healthy, BUT..... his kidneys are more immature than normal. She said that it's fairly common at 22 weeks to have kidneys that aren't fully functioning, but that we would need to come back at 32 weeks for another ultrasound to check to see if they are working normally. It's still a boy!!

Week 24: Monthly Check up. Been having braxton hicks for almost 2 weeks. Midwife looks at my chart and sees that my first baby came at 41 weeks and the second at 37 weeks. She says that with braxton hicks so soon that it is “very likely baby will come at or before 37 weeks”. No lifting over 25 lbs. And to take it easy when I have more than normal braxton hicks.... Great.

Week 32: Kidney ultrasound done. Baby still looks great. Right kidney was easily viewable and is pushing fluids as normal. Left kidney was tougher to see, but looks ok. We were told to let our pediatrician know just so she can be aware in case he has issues in the first year.

Week 36: Monthly check up and strep b culture. Normal visit. Yeah!!

Week 36 and 1 day: Midwife called to say that I tested negative for strep B, but I have strep A. (most commonly strep throat) Didn't know how I got it, but they put me on antibiotics.

Week 37: Weekly Check up. Strep A culture taken to make sure antibiotics worked. We found out that I caught it from the hospital when we went to visit Curtis's grandfather. He had staph in his blood and a different infection in a hole in his foot due to Diabetes. Midwife said that there are lots of strep bacterias and that she hopped that mine wasn't antibiotic resist.

Week 37 and 2 days: Midwife calls and says I'm clear of all strep A!!!!

Week 38: Weekly Check up. Nothing fancy this time! I'm dilated to 1 and I'm getting close.

Week 39: Weekly Check up. I've had braxton hicks and what I call “pelvic grinding” for the past 4 days. Peeing every hour through the night. Generally big, very tired, and ready to give birth. No induction set... but I'm now 3 cm dilated and 75 – 80% effaced. Midwife does a sweeping of the membranes to help induce labor naturally. Ouch!! If my body is “ready” I may go into labor in 12-24 hours. We'll be taking a walk tonight and I'll be puttering around the house to encourage labor.

Hopefully my next baby/pregnancy related post will be our birth story and pictures of new baby!!

Coming Home Outfit For Cael

This little set is for bringing baby home. Which should be very very soon! The top is made from a pattern that I made myself based on another NB side snap shirt. The little pants are from the Little One Layette pattern. The diaper is a Very Baby NB dipe. (he will most likely come home in a sposie, but I'm bringing this just in case) And, the hat I made a while back. It doesn't really match the blues in the outfit, but I really don't care. I love the hat, so it's comin along.

Baby Day Jamies For My Girls

I've been making jamies for my girls since they were born. These are special jamies. Made for the day my hubby and I leave to go to the hospital to birth our son. (well....I'll be doing the birthing, he'll be doing the "hubby" thing) The girls will be spending the day and night with family. These jamies, a book, and a new duffel bag will be given to each of the girls. I hope it'll help remember how much they are loved. And, also help them be less nervous about mommy being in the hospital.

I love how these jamies turned out. First up is a nightgown for Ray. I used this pattern by Fishsticks Designs. I made the size 10 and shortened the dress length by about 5". I love love love this fabric. The little giraffe's are so darned cute! It took some digging at the fabric store to find a co-ordinating fabric for the top, but I managed to find one. And, in the clearance area!!
For Ali's jamies I made her a tank and shorts set. Both shorts and tank were made with this Simplicity pattern. For the shorts I found the softest cotton flannel that I have ever felt before. It's new at JoAnnes and I will be buying tons more of this stuff in different colors. I'm pretty proud of the tank top. I used a rib jersey knit for the body and some lingerie fold over elastic for the straps, armpits, and neck areas.

Sports Bra To Nursing Bra Tutorial

I needed some inexpensive sleep nursing bras for after baby comes. But, at $20.00 a pop, I knew that I would need to come up with my own solution. I was at good ol' WallyMart the other day and saw a wall of different style sports bras in all sizes (even plus sizes!) for $10.00 / 3 pack! I also purchased swim suit / lingerie hooks at the fabric store. For a total of $14.00 for 3 bras. On with the tut!

Materials:
Sports Bra
Swim Suit / Lingerie Hook
Swing Machine (hand stitching would be fine too)
Scissors
Step 1:
Cut straps as low as you can. You don't want to cut so low that you don't have enough strap left to fold over and attach to your clip.
Step 2:
Thread top part of strap through the “loop” side of the clasp and sew down the strap on the back.
Step 3: (This step isn't necessary. I did two of my bras without this step and they work fine)
The lower part of bra strap here was too wide for the “hook” side of the clasp so I made a pleat and sewed it down on both sides of the pleat.
Step 4:
Fold down the top part of the bottom strap to create a “loop” that your “hook” side of the clasp can slip through.
Step 5:
Do other strap the same as the first. And, then your finished!! (finished bra pic at top of tutorial)
In less than 30 min. here is a pretty stack of the 3 finished nursing sleep bras. The top blue one does not have the pleat that the one in the tut has and it works great!
*Note that smaller size bras may need a smaller swim suit / lingerie hook than mine are. They came in 2 or 3 sizes. This tutorial will also work with spaghetti strap sports bras. Just buy an appropriate clasp to attach.

Lots of Knitting For Baby

I've been knitting for baby since I found out I was pregnant. I've posted most of what I've done already. Here are some that I don't think I've posted about yet. My pics are quit horrid. I really should get out my light box. Washington weather and photos don't go well together.
From top to bottom, left to right (links to my Ralvery pages for more info): Leftover baby socks,

Seamless Baby Kimono, Newborn Baby Legwarmers, Umbilical Hat, Sock Monkey Longies, Baby Roots Cardigan Set, and Spare Rib Longies.

A Quilt For Cael Part 5 - Finished!

I finished Cael's quilt a few days ago. For the binding, I kinda cheated. I bought some double fold bias tape and just sewed it down. The corners aren't perfect, but I'm really happy with it anyways. I washed it up and it has that lovely puckering fluffyness that I love so much about handmade quilts. It looks great in his room and I'm sure it'll keep him toasty warm this winter.